Sunday, May 20, 2007

Step 1. Logline - isn't it ironic

So you want to write a movie? Then you got to have a logline.
Logline - got to have them. It just makes good sense. That one line is the basis for the whole script. It tells you and anybody else what this movie is about. But it can't just be any old line; it got to have several things in it.

First - irony. It just have to have irony, this is a non-debating issue.
Second - Compelling metal picture - You got to "see" the whole movie
Third - Audience and cost. This one is debatable. It depends on whether or not you want to sell the thing.
Forth - a great title. It has to be specific. It has to tell you what kind of movie this is.
From these four pieces, all bulled into one little sentence, you are to tell the most important thing of all - What is it? If you can't explain that you are toast. Anyone have to be able to tell, is it a comedy? A thriller? Who is it about, what is it about? And first of all it has to be ironic. Irony is the spice of a movie, what makes us tic.

Examples, bad examples but still.
"Water - a movie about a swimming instructor." Does that tell you anything? Want to pay to see that? Nope.
"Treading water - a swimming instructor with a fear of water." Ok this got some ironic, and I would guess it was a drama.
"Dark water." This got to be a thriller
Get the point? It is not easy; non of the above really cuts it.

So what is my movie about? I spend some time on this logline and am still not happy with it, so I probably change it, but for now here it is:
"A sexist cop thought he married stay-at-home-prefect goes toe to toe with a crime boss, but it might have to be the little women that saves the day - My wife is a CIA agent?"
Hmmm yes need some work. It got what I hope is a dash of irony. We have to see if I can’t prefect it later.
Can you tell what kind of movie this will be? Does it tell the whole picture?

No comments: